On Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2025, the congregation at Nativity, Water Valley, gathered to say farewell to a VIV (Very Important Vicar). Bishop Duncan M. Gray, III, has served in that post since 2022 as part of a semi-retirement. His wife, Kathy, has also taken on leadership roles in the church in the altar and flower guilds.
The Gray family was transported from church to a lovely reception via “Beethoven,” a 1974 Volkswagen bus owned by church member Liz Reynolds.
The reception, attended by many family, friends, and local community figures, featured food by Six Peas Catering and church members. Music was offered by The Mississippi Choral Artists from Oxford, who performed a moving rendition of “We Shall Overcome,” and Effie Burt, a locally renowned jazz and blues artist who performed an original song she wrote for the occasion. The musical portion of the program ended with church members Eddie Wood and Dawn Denham performing “God Be With You ’til We Meet Again.”
The Church had previously presented a processional cross, inscribed in honor of Gray, and new communion vessels in honor of Kathy Gray at the June 1 service. An original painting of the Nativity stained glass window painted by church member Hannah McCormick was presented to Duncan and Kathy at the June 8 reception.
